In this very interesting work of biographical historical fiction, Susan Appleyard re-creates the adult life of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II. We follow Olga’s difficult life from her very restricted youth into womanhood, and then the terrors of the Russian Revolution. Olga avoided the dire fate of Romanovs and aristocrats, but survived at a huge cost.
The early part of the novel shows how the Tsar, his family and ministers were largely to blame for their own downfall. Appleyard’s young Olga tries to live an independent life within the small, stifling world of the Romanov court, where protocol rests on a long-established, rigid social ranking . Strict rules define what Olga may and may not do, what she must wear and when, how she must behave on all occasions, and limits any access to the outside world. Olga may never enter a shop, for example. Nor may she choose her own husband. That is decided by the respective mothers, and in this case the bridegroom is a compulsive gambler who can offer Olga nothing but his inherited family title; no love, no companionship, and definitely no children. Trapped in this appalling marriage, Olga turns to a dashing but very upright and formal army officer, far beneath her in status. Gradually, their mutual affection gives her the courage to find her own way in life. Unfortunately, the break Olga so desires comes with the Great War, when her beau is sent to the battle front and she becomes a nurse, facing the blood and suffering in some of the worst of ‘man’s inhumanity to man’.
As Appleyard reveals what happens to Olga, she deftly feeds in some of the history and politics leading up to the decline of the Russian Empire. We see how the Tsar’s weak character and wavering undermine anything his best ministers can advise, and even his mother’s sound advice. We also see how the very dubious Siberian mystic who became known to the world as Rasputin (the debaucher) is brought in to ‘heal’ the Tsar’s haemophiliac heir, and shows how this man’s power over the Tsar and Tsarina hastens their sad fate.
The book comes to a close, when the Bolsheviks finally seize power and, Olga has to make a heart-rending decision, whether to stay with the family, her brothers and their children, or escape into a frightening world with her lover and their children.
After a necessarial slow beginning that shows the minutiae of court life, this book becomes an informative, immersive read. If you are looking for a good long book for a summer read or a winter fireside Susan Appleyard’s Grand Duchess definitely fits the bill.
JGH
Málaga, May, 2026
